John j



(No Model.) 1

J. J. MAAS.

LEVER 'LATOH.

No. 320,435. I Patented June 23, 1885.

N. PETERS, PhMn-Lithographer. Wasfiington. n c.

' lUNiTnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN J. MAAS, OF ALBANY, NElV YORK, ASSIGNUR TO CHARLES GROISSANT,

OF SAME PLACE.

LEVER- iESPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 320M185, dated June 23, 1885.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN J. MAAs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New York,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lever-Latches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in lever-latches, in which the latch, provided with a lever-handle and two mutual reacting pressing-feet and pivoted to the doonjamb, co-opcrates with an inclined bearing-plate secured to the door and a bearing-plate secured to said jainb. The object of my invention is to provide a bearing-plate having an inclined surface and attached to the door, and a second bearing-plate attached to the jamb, and a latch having reacting-feet and pivoted to the second bearingplate at a point between said feet, so that when the latch is made to engage with the inclined surface of the first bearing-plate one of the said reacting-feet will have bearing on the second bearing-plate, and thereby cause the jamb 2 5 to exert a reacting pressure on the door. I

attain this object by the mechanism illustrateda in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a plan view of my improvedlever-latch and devices employed therewith secured, respectively, to the door and jamb,as used. Fig. 2 is aview from above of the same. Fig. 3isan end view of the same viewed from the handle end of the lever-latch. Fig. 4 is an end view viewed from the opposite end pflsaid latch. Fig. 5 is a view of the pivot- The same letters of reference refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings, A represents the door, and

40 B is the jamb of the same, and O is a handle for operating the door to pull the same open.

A bearing plate, to, having its outer side or outer surface made with an incline in an upward and inward direction, is secured to the 5 door by screws 8, or their known equivalents. The drawings show this inclined bearing-plate to be made in connection with handle 0, and forming substantially the upper foot of the same, though it may be made independent and separate from the handle with the latter set away from the said plate a.

Secured tojamb B,by screws s,or their equivalents, is the reacting bearing-plate D, which is perforated at e to receive the pivot-bolt of the latch.

E is a handled lever-latch, of which 0 is the handle. This latch is provided with pivothole 0, (shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2,) and projecting from its inner side from apoint relatively over the inclined bearing-plate a is the pressing-foot c and at the end portion thereof, which projects back past the pivot-hole e, is the pressingfoot 0 This pressing-foot is at about the same distance from pivot-hole e, as is pressing-foot e, and is relatively over or opposite bearing-plate D. The bearing-face of foot 6 is preferably made with an incline corresponding with the inclined surface of plate a, substantially as shown in Fig. 3. The pivot-hole e of the lever-latch is made slightly tapering, so as to allow the latch to be adapted to rock slightly on its pivot, that its feet may be readily adapted to have proper bearing on plates at and D without wrenching or bending or straining the pivot-bolt.

F is the pivot-bolt, which has its portion f working in pivot-hole e of the latch made of cylindrical form, while its portion f passing through plate D and the wood of the j'amb is made of a square form, so as to hold with said plate and the wood from turningyand thereby prevent the hole in the wood and said plate becoming worn or enlarged. Both ends of this pivot-bolt are provided with screw-threads, one end receiving the screw-threaded nut m and the other the nut a, by which nuts the bolt will be made to tightly draw the latch to plate D and the jamb B, as may be required. A washer, to, between nut a and the lever-latch, prevents the movements of the latter from working the nut tighter on or loosening it on the screw-threaded stem of the bolt.

The contiguous edges of the door and jamb to which my improvements are applied are preferably made with corresponding, but reversed inclines, as shown at g in. Fig. 2, so that the inclined surface of the meeting edge of the door will wedge with that of the janib, when the former is closed against the latter.

By the above-described improvements the latch is provided wit-h a reacting pressingfoot which will react against the opposite pressingfoot through the respective plates to and D, and thereby cause the jarnb of the door to re act on the door to cause the latter to wedge tightly against the former, while at the same time the pivot-bolt F will be relieved of all side strain and liability of its bending outward from the door, as heretofore in lever-latches, and will be held from turning in the wood of the janib or wearing the hole therein.

When the lever is turned with its handle end 6 downward in direction of arrow 1, the lever will,with its pressingfoot eflact on the incline of plate a to crowd the door inward, while at the same time foot 6 will act on plate D and prevent the pressure from the door from forc ing the lever-latch outward and bending the pivot-bolt. When it is desired to open door A, the lever-latch will be thrown upward and around in direction of arrow 2, and to a short distance past a vertical posltionnvhen its foot 6 will strike stop it and hold the lever from further movement.

and the latch E, having feet 6 e, and pivoted to said plate D between such feet, the latch being adapted to engage the inclined surface of the plate, the foot 6 being adapted to exert a pressure upon the door, and the foot 6 a reacting pressure upon the jamb, substantially as and for the purpose described.

JOHN J. MAAS. Witnesses:

CHARLES SELKIRK, ALEX. SE-LKIRK. 

